Genres

TV Reviews: The Walking Dead 1.5

Waking from a coma to a world overrun by zombies, policeman Rick Grimes must learn how to survive in this post apocalyptic nightmare. Armed with firearms and supplies, Rick sets out into this dangerous world, searching for his missing family, hoping to find them alive and well…this is The Walking Dead.

When we last left Rick and company, a large group of zombies had attacked the campsite and killed a good number of the group. Everyone was devastated by the loss of life, especially by the death of Amy, Andrea’s sister. On a good note, Rick and the boys were able to get more guns and ammo from the city and make some new friends. On a not so good note, Merle, more pissed off than ever, stole their truck and has gone MIA.

“Wildfire” begins with the aftermath of the zombie attack. Emotions are running high as the survivors round up all the dead bodies lying around, everywhere. Glenn is especially adamant about keeping the walkers’ bodies, which they burn, separate from the bodies of fallen group members, which they bury. Daryl goes around chopping an axe through the heads of all people killed by the zombies to prevent them from turning. When Daryl reaches Ed’s body, Carol insists that she should be the one to chop him since he was her husband. Carol then goes a bit crazy unleashing all her pent up rage, anger, and every other emotion she’s feeling in a pretty brutal attack on Ed’s poor brain.

While that’s going on, Andrea sits by her sister’s dead body in an almost catatonic state. The others keep trying to reach out to her with no avail, until finally she reacts to Rick by threatening to shoot him if he tries to do anything to her sister’s body. Later Dale comes over to pay his respects and he learns that today is Amy’s birthday and that Andrea is riddled with guilt over always missing her birthdays in the past. Dale tells Andrea about his wife’s death and the fact that her and Amy were the first people he has cared about since his wife passed. Finally, in the most heartbreaking moment yet, Amy comes back to life as a zombie and Andrea tells her that this time “she is there for her” and shoots her in the head.

Around this time we also learn that Jim was bitten by a walker during the attack and is infected with their illness. After a heated debate over what to do with him, Rick convinces everyone that the C.D.C. (Center for Disease Control) is likely their best bet for finding shelter and a possible cure for Jim. Shane disagrees and he and Rick begin to bump heads on many issues. The tension between them reaches an all time high when Dale witnesses Shane pointing his gun at an unknowing Rick, while he considers whether or not to kill him. Soon after this, the group sets out for the C.D.C. with the exception of Morales and his family, who decide to go off on their own and search for other members of their family. As Jim’s condition worsens, he too decides that it’s best if he is left behind. Rick and the others feel unsure about this decision, but ultimately respect his wishes and drive off leaving him sitting by a tree waiting to die.

The episode takes an unexpected turn as we are introduced to a gentleman working at the C.D.C. It seems he is attempting to uncover a cure for the zombie plague. He records video messages to update someone out there on his status. His research is soon halted when he has an accident in the lab and activates some kind of quarantine fail-safe that destroys all his work and all of his samples of the zombie virus. Alone with no real purpose left, the man considers suicide, but before he can make up his mind, Rick and the crew show up at his door trying to get in. The others believe that the building is empty, but Rick knows someone is there when he notices that the surveillance camera is moving. At first it seems as though the man is not going to let them in, but after Rick pleads with him on the camera to help them, the man finally opens the door.

This episode was the most emotional one yet, and the first to really veer the story in a completely different direction than the comic. If this episode didn’t get you choked up a bit or bring a tear to your eye at least once, you are likely already one of the living dead, or at least dead inside. I am really shocked by where this episode ended and I am intrigued to find out what they will learn about what’s happened from this C.D.C. man. I am also interested to know how fans of the comic are going to react to this new twist in the story. We only have one more episode left this season (I know, it’s too soon!), and I for one can’t wait to see how this first season ends and who will be left standing.

4 Comments

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I loved the fact that we ended up with something totally new here than what’s in the books. Hopefully it will pan out and be worth it because I’m definitely interested in where this is going though with one more episode I hope the cliff hanger I want to happen actually happens.

One thing my wife pointed out is that the RV was said to be shot when they left Jim behind (too bad, I was really getting to like that character, which was their intent, I am sure), but then they show them going down the road in it. Great show, though